𝗢𝗺𝗻𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗺 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝘆. 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗬𝘂𝘀𝗶

Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio recently surprised the public by stating that she will not attend the upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., explaining that she has assigned herself as the “Designated Survivor”, but not clarifying what she meant about it.

While it may be VP Sara’s prerogative not to attend a public occasion, albeit official, her decision to deviate from what has been established as customary protocol, now openly confirms her previous rift with the administration.

The term “Designated Survivor” conjures morbid thoughts of a disaster or incident occurring during the SONA that ultimately leads to either the death or permanent disability of the president.

In fact, in the American movie Designated Survivor shown on Netflix, Kiefer Sutherland stars as Thomas Kirkman, an American academic named as the designated survivor for the State of the Union address, suddenly ascends from Housing and Urban Development Secretary to President of the United States after an explosion kills everyone ahead of him in the presidential line of succession. Kirkman deals with his inexperience as head of state while looking to uncover the truth behind the attack.

Regardless of the political gimmickry that VP Sara has in mind, the Philippines actually has a system of designating a survivor to assume the presidency upon instances of death, permanent disability, or inability of the president to discharge his/her official functions.

Article 7, Section 8 of the 1987 Constitution provides that: “In case of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of the President, the Vice-President shall become the President to serve the unexpired term. In case of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of both the President and Vice-President, the President of the Senate or, in case of his inability, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall then act as President until the President or Vice-President shall have been elected and qualified.”

The same provision further reads: “Congress shall, by law, provide who shall serve as President in case of death, permanent disability, or resignation of the Acting President. He shall serve until the President or the Vice-President shall have been elected and qualified, and be subject to the same restrictions of powers and disqualifications as the Acting President”.

So, there really is already a constitutional system in place who shall serve the presidency under above-described situations. But an enabling law may still be required if only to provide an extensive system of succession if the Speaker of The House, who is in the fourth line as “acting president”, also dies, permanently be disabled, or resigned as such.

In closing, it is all a play of words and dramatics as VP Sara may not actually be wrong labeling herself as “Designated Survivor”.